Online Reporter
Thupeyo Muleya Beitbridge Bureau
POLICE in South Africa’s Limpopo province are on high alert and have said they will not tolerate any form of lawlessness, intimidation or damage to property linked to planned protests against foreign nationals in the province.
In a statement on Monday, the provincial Commissioner Lieutenant General Thembi Hadebe said deployments had been made across Limpopo ahead of the planned action, which is set to begin this week.
“Any unauthorised gathering or march that seeks to disrupt public order and unlawful action resulting in intimidation, violence or destruction of property will be dealt with decisively and without delay by the police,” she said.
The senior police officer assured residents that law enforcement agents would ensure everyone could continue with their daily routines without fear.
“There are lawful avenues available for raising grievances and we encourage all parties to use those channels rather than resorting to unlawful protests,” said the commissioner.
She said police officers would be deployed in full force and act to maintain law and order while ensuring that any protests are managed within the law.
Limpopo shares a border with Zimbabwe at Beitbridge and has a large population of Zimbabwean nationals living and working in the province.
The Zimbabwean Embassy in South Africa has already issued an urgent safety advisory to Zimbabwean nationals living in that country, urging heightened vigilance amid rising reports of xenophobic tensions and sporadic violence in several communities.
This follows recent threats and ongoing anti-migrants’ protests across South Africa, some of whom have turned violent.
Xenophobia motivated attacks on migrants have become a perennial phenomenon in South Africa, which is home to millions of migrants from across the globe who are there officially and on an irregular basis.
Hundreds of nationals have often fallen victim to such attacks with some being displaced while some have met their deaths at the hands of the local mobs or vigilante groups.
“The Consulate of Zimbabwe in Johannesburg and Cape Town have received reports of disturbing demonstrations that are targeting foreign nationals,” said the Embassy in the advisory note.
“These incidents pose a serious risk to the safety and wellbeing of Zimbabwean nationals residing in South Africa. Zimbabwean nationals are invited to remain vigilant and avoid areas where demonstrations are taking place, stay indoors and limit unplanned movements, to report to the local South African Police Services, Embassy and the Consulate in Johannesburg and Cape Town. In addition, they need to keep essential documents with the all the time.”
The Embassy said the Government remained committed to ensuring the safety, dignity and wellbeing of its nationals.
Already, the Zimbabwe Exiles’ Forum (ZEF), which is led by Human Rights Lawyer Advocate Gabriel Shumba has also reiterated the same call and commended the Embassy for timeously issuing the advisory note.
He said the reports on the violent protests were alarming and life threatening to most migrants.
In a recent interview, spokesperson for the Zimbabwe Community in South Africa (ZimCommunitySA), Mr Bongani Mkwananzi said their fellow countrymen should take serious heed of the advisors note.
He pleaded with his compatriots to avoid getting into unnecessary situations or getting into confrontations with protests as the situation was too volatile.
The ZimCommunitySA represents the interests of Zimbabweans in the neighbouring country and has since condemned the killing and called for urgent action to bring the culprit to book.
“We take note of the advisory note and it is very rare for our embassy to issue such a security warning to its nationals. So, what this means is that our compatriots will take the warning seriously and make sure they stay safe all the time,” said Mr Mkwananzi.
“We urge them to try to avoid any confrontations or try to get near such demonstrations. It has become a common tendency to scapegoat foreign nationals as a problem in South Africa, yet this is not necessarily true.
“Whatever the problems are, these calls to violence are not very helpful especially to the image of South Africa, but regardless of these our compatriots need to stay safe.”
